Half of mobile subscribers in the US have smartphones

Everyone knows the world of technology is constantly evolving, and it’s almost impossible to predict what might be the “next big thing.” Even though most experts may not know the future, one thing they do know is soon most people in the world will carry some sort of smartphone as their daily driver. Well, that proclamation is slowly becoming reality, as half of all mobile subscribers in the United States now own a smartphone, according to the latest research report conducted by Nielsen.

This is a huge jump when compared to last year’s number of 36 percent around this time (Nielsen research ended in February). Furthermore, the market research firm broke down the numbers, showing almost half of all smartphones are powered by Google’s Android operating system, with Apple’s iPhone representing 32 percent of the market and Research in Motion’s BlackBerry platform picking up a 11.6 percent share.

Now the real interesting part about Nielsen’s findings is its chart that shows people who recently acquired a smartphone. According to the chart (below), 48 percent chose an Android device while 43 percent bought an iPhone and just 5 percent a BlackBerry. If you do some quick math, this suggests that BlackBerry lost about 7 percent of its share to Apple. Sparingly, the research shows that Apple isn’t taking share from Android, but instead, it’s gobbling the rest of the competition. This information should show both the maker of BlackBerry and Microsoft the maker of Windows Phone, that Apple not Android might be its biggest worry.